Click to enlarge.. February 4, 2010 - Two St. Louis-area legislators proposed legislation to ban smoking in many public places statewide. The bill, which has not yet been assigned to a committee, would ban smoking in restaurants, bars, shopping malls and gambling facilities, among other public places.

Critics of the legislation, including Senate leadership, say the proposal is unlikely to pick up much steam. Last year, Sen. Joan Bray, D-St. Louis, sponsored a smoking ban bill, but it received little support from other lawmakers and was never heard in committee.